UNESCO’s new publication "Long Walk of Peace: Towards a Culture of Prevention" was launched in Almaty

On the eve of the celebration of the International Day of Peace, on 20 September 2018, UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty presented a publication that is the result of the joint work of academics, scholars and 32 United Nations agencies "Long Walk of Peace: Towards a Culture of Prevention".

Mr. Norimasa Shimomura, UN Resident Coordinator in Kazakhstan delivered a welcoming speech and congratulated participants with the International Day of Peace, the theme of which this year is "The Right to Peace: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70."

In his speech, Mr. Shimomura said: "True peace requires standing up for the human rights, leaving no one behind," and called for an inclusive society in which all men and women are treated with justice and equality and that they actively invest their knowledge and innovative skills into the country’s future.

Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty, Ms. Krista Pikkat, began her opening remarks with the words of the outstanding French lawyer and one of the authors of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Mr. René Cassin, who also had previously been quoted by the UNESCO Director-General, Ms. Audrey Azoulay: “There will be no peace on this planet as long as human rights are violated somewhere in the world”.

Ms. Pikkat presented to the audience the recently published book The Long Walk of Peace: Towards a Culture of Prevention, developed by UNESCO in cooperation with the Abat Oliba CEU University (Barcelona, Spain), within the framework of the International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures, 2013-2022.

This book is analyzing the meaning of peace as a key element of the UN activity and one of the main targets of UNESCO. In the setting of the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDG 16 in particular, the book highlights the prospects of 32 UN structures on peacebuilding issues and considers the ways of their perception and promoting the peaceful agenda within their own fields of competence.

"Long Walk of Peace" is a new overview of the conceptual and practical approaches to peace after the establishment of the UN. Through thorough theoretical analysis with joint demonstration of innovative practices of UN agencies, this publication explores the long, sustainable path to peace and inspires for the way forward.

"Long Walk of Peace" is the result of joint efforts of scientists, experts and UN staff from various backgrounds. Thanks to its conceptual history and reliable analysis, "Long Walk of Peace” shows that the peace is a dynamic process and a continuous path of discovery. Thus, the book provides a unique understanding of emerging priorities for "maintaining peace" and promoting a "culture of prevention".

This publication broadly reflects the mandate of UNESCO, serves as a laboratory of ideas and thereby promotes the main imperatives highlighted in the global Agenda 2030.

The event was attended by colleagues from other UN agencies such as UNIC, OHCHR, IOM, UNODC, UNHCR, UNAIDS, UN ESCAP, as well as partners of the UNESCO Almaty Office: Center for the Rapprochement of Cultures, Kazakhstan-Indian Fund, International Foundation for the Protection of Freedom of Speech “Adil Soz”, Olzhas Suleimenov Foundation "Culture", Kazakhstan National Federation of UNESCO Clubs. The event was also attended by the representatives of the diplomatic corps of the Republic of Kazakhstan.